Dave Ball, one half of the innovative 1980s electronic music band Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the pair achieved a worldwide hit with their version of Gloria Jones' Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is regarded as a classic of electronic music.
He subsequently founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's the hit Swamp Thing.
Ball died peacefully in his rest at his home in London on October 22, just weeks after playing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind Festival in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of ill-health.
"I managed to damage myself quite a bit," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and cracked about multiple ribs and fractured my wrist."
After contracting a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was placed in an medically-induced sleep and remained in hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a fresh record with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is set for release in the coming year.
"He was focused and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a few days ago," stated the singer in a tribute.
"It's so sad as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive time for him, and I take some solace from the knowledge that he listened to the finished record and believed that it was a great piece of work."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented creative mastermind", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our body of work.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the songs you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
Richard Norris from The Grid, shared his condolences, remembering Ball's "endless laughter" and "steadfast support".
"Being in a duo with someone is distinct from joining a group, the bond is incredibly close," he continued.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming moments as a team. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in the city of Chester in 1959, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He grew up in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his first name from his birth name to David, together with his younger sister his sister, who was also adopted.
He encountered Almond at an art college in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and promptly recorded an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the quiet technician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they achieved a rare creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a fascination with electronic instruments after watching Kraftwerk appear on BBC science show a popular series, and began to marry moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of 1981, selling 21 million copies globally. Together with hits by other artists, Human League and electronic acts, it contributed to cleared the path for the electronic music style of the 1980s.
The song was also included on their full-length debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which spawned two further high-charting singles: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the record up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in the following year.
Career Highlights
Fame had its benefits. "I enjoyed being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which might seem like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a music magazine.
But it also presented problems. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I realize that's a common saying, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it applies for so many musicians."
Amidst the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they managed to produce a second memorable record - the unconventional, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another LP, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on other projects.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, including the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed acid house with melodic sounds over a long-lasting partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was intended to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, 2018.
Yet, they remained together, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Ball recently described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they visited while recording their initial records.
He added that his time in medical care had shaped the group's music.
"I had strange recollections when I was coming and going of hospital because I was on pain medication," he explained to a music magazine.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the noises in my mind from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The last versions were completed only a short time before Ball died. It is due for launch in the spring of 2026.
